What is Daiso? Japanese discounter coming to Crystal Lake, Oswego; will be first stores in Illinois

Crystal Lake and Oswego will be home to a unique retail store early next year, as Japanese discount store Daiso will be occupying the shuttered BuyBuy Baby property, becoming one of the first in the state and the Midwest.

In Crystal Lake, the former BuyBuy Baby site, at 5540 Route 14, will be divided into two spaces for Michaels and Daiso. Daiso plans to open its 15,400-square-foot store Feb. 1. The store will bring about 40 jobs, Daiso Chief Operations Officer Jack Williams said. The Oswego store is expected early next year at 3040 Route 34.

What is Daiso?

Daiso, pronounced “die-so,” is a Japan-based discount store that sells Japanese-inspired home decor, stationery, food and beauty products. The 50-year-old retailer started in the U.S. 15 years ago primarily in California and Texas, with 60 stores total across the country.

“Daiso is probably like Walmart in Japan,” Williams said. “They’re everywhere. There’s 5,000 stores there.”

The retailer is considered a “100-yen” store, similar to a dollar store. It has its own product development team that constantly brings out its own products that are comparable with higher-end home decor stores at a fraction of the price, Williams said.

“That is the magic that is Daiso,” he said. “It has everything you need to decorate your home.”

The Japan locations carry two other brands in their stores: Threeppy and Standard Products. Threeppy is a combination of “300 yen” and “happy,” while Standard Products sell coordinated kitchen and organization items. The Crystal Lake location will be the first store in the U.S. to have all three brands under one roof, Williams said.

About 80% of the store’s items come from Daiso in Japan, while the other 20% come from domestic vendors, Williams said. The store also carries Japanese and American snacks that are sourced domestically.

“There’s this whole real desire for customers for something new, for something different,” Williams said. “It’s brought back this jaeger of shopping inside a store and being entertained, and finding items that they never have ever seen before.”

Other locations?

Daiso currently has locations in states including California, Oregon and Texas. The expansion to the Midwest and East Coast is part of Daiso’s plan to open 1,000 stores across the country by 2032, Williams said.

Other Illinois locations planned in the future include Bloomingdale, Rolling Meadows, Willowbrook, South Elgin, Machesney Park, Normal and two locations in Niles, Williams said.

An earlier version of this story had an incorrect spelling of the store name, which is Daiso.